Nepali education system goes beyond my head and I am sure
many people agree with me.
Nepali education system mostly focuses on the theoretical
part and that too, not just for higher level but also for the preschool level. I
agree that we need to have theoretical knowledge along with practical skills
but what I don’t understand is the reason for torturing the young mind that are
just beginning to evolve.
My question is to those authorities who are responsible for
approving and also designing the course structure for preschool (pre-primary)
education system. Why should the children be tortured in the name of providing
education? Getting an education is a matter of choice, well, maybe not for
those kids but mostly it is a matter of choice rather than compulsion. What is
compulsory is to be literate and at least have knowledge of the basics.
As Einstein had wonderfully said, “Education is what remains
after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”
Education is not about going to school every day carrying
bulky books and ten kilogram bags. It’s about learning skills and gaining
knowledge which would help you in future. Einstein was a genius and there is no
doubt about that. In fact, his brilliance still remains unchallenged. But did
he become such a genius by going to school every day and reading bulky books
and doing series of exercises on notebooks? The answer is NO! He was curious
and his genius lies in this interest in learning more about anything and
everything he saw.
The highest level of education can be received with interest
and curiosity. One must be interested and curious about things and only then
could they be able to learn more. There is no use making someone repeat few
pages of the books every day for a year and evaluating their talents on the
basis of what they write on a piece of paper. Some people are brilliant in
speaking while they suck at writing and some people express themselves well
with their writings while they suck at speaking with others.
Everyone has a different talent and their talents could not
be judged by one method alone. You cannot call a fish dumb because he cannot
climb a tree and you cannot call a monkey genius because he flies from tree to
tree with excellence. These are the kinds of talents they are born with and
both of these are totally different from one another. Same goes with the children.
Not all of them have same talent and so, not all of them could be judged in the
same way.
But that alone is not the point. The point is, they should
also be able to hone their skills and talents. Why is it that a child who scores
90% in board exams but sucks in sports or any other activities considered a
genius and a child who is excellent in all extracurricular activities but
scores only 40% in board exams considered a failure? Why do we tend to run so
much after the numbers? Be it percentage, marks or ranks? The only thing people
find worth appreciating is the number and not the skill or talent a child have.
I have seen parents putting pressure on their children for
excelling in exams and the children haven’t even completed their primary level
education, yet. They have their whole life to carry the burden of exams and
scores and marks and percentage. Why not let them enjoy their childhood as a
normal child? Of course you should make them understand the value of education
and excelling since childhood but not at the cost of their childhood. They will
never get it back!
If your child does not fall in top five category in class,
don’t panic. Your child is doing fine. It is NOT compulsion to top the monthly tests all the time. Give them a
break. Make them study an hour for whole year, not five hours a day for a
whole week before exams. Prepare them from the very start. It will teach them
the value of time and also help them excel the exams (that you value the most)
and also live their childhood as a normal child should live.
